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Insidetv.ew.com has an interview with Survivor: South Pacific winner, Sophie Clarke. Here's a teaser:

How comfortable were you going into that final Tribal when you first arrived, and then how comfortable were you after the jury questions when they went up to vote?

I knew that I had a shot. The thing that shocked me was Ozzy starting it off by saying, “This game is yours to lose, Coach,” and that shocked me. Because I thought I was going to go in there with a good claim for the million, and all of a sudden I was on defense. And then after all the questions I could tell that Coach was really hammered. I mean everyone was getting hammered, but he was getting hammered the most. All they wanted was honesty, and I was the only one at the final Tribal to give them honesty. All Coach had to say was “I manipulated all of you,” and he would have gotten the million. I was the only one to own up to things. I was just brutally honest with people and didn’t just say what they wanted to hear. Cochran asked me, “What was the best move of the game?” and I immediately said, “Well, it wasn’t yours. Yours sucked!” And, you know, Albert would never say that. Albert would think that was the surest way to lose a jury vote. I could tell the jury didn’t want to be messed around with. They’re not stupid people.

In the so-close department, which one is more painful, this one where you knew you’d win if you took that last challenge, or Cook Islands where you lost by one measly vote?

Cook Islands, because this is all my own doing, if that makes any sense. It was all up to me and I just have to take some solace that there is some grand master plan that is bigger than myself that I can’t quite perceive at this moment. Maybe I just don’t need that million dollars. I’ll just have to make my million dollars the old fashioned way. Walking away with $100,000 plus is not too bad either. I didn’t get first place but I basically got second if you look at it monetarily. And in my opinion I really did win the game in terms of how people saw it play out at home.

Brandon joins Ozzy on Redemption Island. He tells him that he was blindsided. Ozzy opines that Brandon is playing a "blind faith" kind of game.

Sophie says that tribal council was crazy tonight. Both she and Benjamin are disappointed in Albert for lying and politicking in front of the jury. Coach says that he won't be made a fool by Albert.

No fool, Albert realizes that he is in deep trouble and he must find a way to get back into his alliance's good graces.

Day 36

Ozzy is ready for this last duel. His home for the last few weeks, Ozzy will miss Redemption Island.

At the duel, Jeff Probst confirms that the winner gets back into the game. They must hold on to a pole for as long as possible. As usual, Ozzy gets no support from the Upolu alliance. Nevertheless, Ozzy is victorious.

I may have lost the game of Survivor, but I've won.

Brandon becomes the seventh member of the final jury. Ozzy claims that Redemption Island has allowed him to come back stronger then ever.

Back at camp, Ozzy immediately realizes that he is not welcome. The Dragon Slayer can't help but be impressed by Ozzy's duel run at Redemption Island. Coach says that he'll give Ozzy his hidden immunity idol if he thinks the other is in trouble. Understandably, Ozzy doubts his sincerity.

The only thing I can do is win.

Benjamin realizes that it's his game to lose right now. Everyone wants to bring him to the final three.

Day 37

To win immunity, the castaways must use one hand to steady a balancing board while building a stack of cards with the other. Sophie uses up all of her tiles without reaching the mark, and she is forced to start over. Ozzy runs into the same problem. Seeing that he has no chance to win the challenge, Sophie orders Albert to drop his stack and pick up the tiles she dropped on the ground. Albert has no intention to comply, but Jeff forbids them from doing so anyway.

If you want Ozzy out of this game, beat him.

The Upolu members are pissed by Ozzy's inopportune victory. For his part, Ozzy wants to try to look like the good guy. He wants to attempt to pit them all against each others.

Albert and Coach consider getting rid of Rich. Ozzy tries to get Albert to vote out Sophie. Rich is worried. He discusses voting out Sophie with Coach, but he doesn't like the vibe emanating from the other man.

Ozzy reveals to Albert that Coach promised to bring him to the final three. Albert doesn't believe such a wild claim, and Coach lies when asked about it.

At tribal council, Ozzy explains that he knew he needed to win or he was gone. The Dragon Slayer is wearing the hidden immunity idol. Ozzy reveals once again that Coach wants to bring him to the end. Sophie claims that Ozzy has no respect for her. Ozzy counters by saying that everyone who came through Redemption Island had bad things to say about Sophie. She breaks down and cry when her character is put into question.

As the votes are tallied, Rick is booted out by beating Sophie in a 3-2 vote.

Oh, have a seat.

Ever the family man, Coach gets up to give Rick a hug, but the cowboy is having none of that.

Day 38

For today, Ozzy's plan A is win. His plan B is also win.

Sophie can't stand Ozzy being around. Coach is pissed at Ozzy for disclosing their secret. He feels like Ozzy stabbed him in the back. But Ozzy explains that he was burned badly in the past and he felt he couldn't trust Coach yesterday.

Ozzy would like Albert and Sophie to make fire tonight. He would like to force a tie.

This is the moment of truth. This challenge for me is worth a million dollars.

To win immunity, the castaways must run through a flower-shaped obstacle course, collecting five bags of puzzle pieces along the way. First person to complete their puzzle wins immunity. Ozzy takes the early lead, but Sophie comes back from behind and secures her place in the final three.

So close, but so far away. Yet again.

Ozzy is disappointed by his failure to win the challenge. Coach claims that Ozzy was the dragon and Sophie slew him, hence becoming a new Dragon Slayer. Both Albert and Sophie wonder if Coach is playing a secret game with Ozzy.

Ozzy wants Coach to give him the chance to fight one last battle. He wants to make fire against Albert. He reminds Coach that Albert betrayed him in the past. The Dragon Slayer is aware that Ozzy is a worthy warrior.

At tribal council, Sophie feels great to be in the final three. Looking back, Ozzy explains that it was a million dollar puzzle for him. Coach understands how a deserving competitor like Ozzy feels. Ozzy hopes Coach will live up to his word. When Jeff Probst asks for clarification, Coach explains that Ozzy would like to face Albert in a fire-making challenge.

As the votes are tallied, it comes as no surprise when Ozzy comes out at the losing end of a 3-1 vote. What comes as a bit of a shock - a first in Survivor history, if I'm not mistaken -- is that Ozzy receives an ovation from the jury.

Back at camp, the three of them are ecstatic. Coach is happy they came back as a family.

Day 39

Proud of themselves, Albert, Coach, and Sophie enjoy their final three breakfast.

Sophie wants to keep her composure at the final tribal council. Albert feels that he played a better game than the other two. Coach claims that it's the third and final chapter in his Survivor journey. He wants the final chapter to have a great ending.

As a matter of course, they burn down the camp before leaving.

At tribal council, Jeff Probst gives each of them the opportunity to give an opening statement. Albert says that he's honored, privileged, and humbled by being in this position. To him, Survivor is a social experiment, a game about people. He is thankful for the opportunity to be part of it. Sophie opines that she outplayed them by winning three immunities. The strategy she had from the beginning permitted her to outwit them. And her social game was to be as honest as possible. Zeus can't believe he's sitting before the final jury. It was an uphill battle coming into this game. He looked to everyone to give him the strength to go through this journey. As usual, we get the compassion, loyatly, yada yada yada, spiel.

Not unexpectedly, they are standing before a rather harsh jury. Ozzy takes the floor first, saying that nobody wants to vote for any of them. He challenges Zeus about his honor bullshit. Jim wants the three of them to explain why the people sitting next to them don't deserve to win the million dollars. Dawn only asks Sophie to explain what her strategy was when she allied herself with Albert and Coach. Still bitter about his elimination, Rick question Coach about his honor and integrity speech. He scolds Albert for playing the religious card when he helped get Brandon sent to Redemption Island. Not surprisingly, Brandon wants to know how, when they claimed to be men of God themselves, both Albert and Coach betrayed him. Whitney berates the three of them for the way they played the game. Edna claims that they used manipulation to reach their ends, but she asks the jury not to be mad at them for being duped. Keith wants to know if Coach planned to use the hidden immunity idol individually or for the tribe. At that point, Sophie seized the opportunity to undermine Coach by revealing just how and when the idol was found. Cochran explains that Benjamin tricked him. Zeus indeed played a terrific game, as basically everyone believed they were in the final three with him.

As the votes are tallied, Albert unfortunately fails to see his name appear on a single parchment. Sophie beats Coach to claim the title of sole survivor and the million dollar prize by a vote of 6-3.

Survivor: South Pacific, though uneven and rough around the edges, turned out to be better than both Survivor: Redemption Island and Survivor: Nicaragua. The bar hadn't been set too high, true, but Survivor: South Pacific nonetheless offered a few extremely entertaining episodes. Sadly, the pagonging of the Savaii tribe took a lot out of the last few episodes, but for a strech Survivor: South Pacific was a lot of fun to watch.

Let us hope that the One World twist will work better than Redemption Island ever did. . .

Coming back from tribal council, Coach is satisfied that his strategy worked out the plan they planned from the very beginning. Always full of crap, tonight more than ever before, Benjamin opines that they can go at it with honor, loyalty, and integrity.

The real game begins tonight.

Albert and Sophie discuss what they'd do if Ozzy returned and won immunity. Little does she know that Albert is considering voting for her.

Day 33

After giving this much thought, Albert is convinced that Sophie is becoming more and more dangerous, and that sitting next to her at the final tribal council might not be best for him. Since Rick is by far the least dangerous player in the game, Albert would prefer to be in the final three with him and Coach.

At the Redemption Island arena, the duel consists of completing a slide-puzzle that will release a hatchet. They must then use the hatchet to chop a rope which will release a bag of puzzle cubes. The first one to complete the puzzle stays alive. Although the entire Upolu alliance is helping Edna (the woman they have just voted out, mind you), Ozzy wins the duel.

Not surprisingly, Albert doesn't care much about honor and integrity. Always a particularly sharpt fellow, Brandon feels that he can trust Albert. Moreover, he is down with the idea of voting out Sophie.

Meanwhile, Sophie tells Coach that Ozzy is the most dangerous player in the game. She would like to send Brandon to Redemption Island, so that either Brandon or Ozzy would finally be out of the game for good. Rick agrees with them.

Not long after that, Albert attempts to convince Coach that Sophie is much more dangerous than he thinks. A great judge of character, Benjamin is under the impression that Albert is intimidated by Sophie's intelligence.

The Dragon Slayer warns Brandon about trying to bully them. He feels that Brandon is acting more and more like Russell with each passing day. Meeting Brandon's father made Coach realize what his next move ought to be.

Day 35

What happened to Day 34? Beats me. . . Perhaps it was the most uneventful day in Survivor history. . .

To win the immunity challenge, the castaways must climb a massive wall, collecting bags of puzzle pieces on each attempt. They must then divide the puzzle pieces and match up the pairs, which in turn will reveal a code that will raise their flags. For reward, the winner will get pizze delivered to camp. Brandon wins immunity and selects Rick to share the pizza with him.

Understandably, Brandon's winning immunity was the worst case scenario. Sophie approaches Coach to discuss the possibility of eliminating Albert. As they enjoy their pizza, she tests the waters in order to see if they'd consider voting for Albert.

Ever the loyal team player, Brandon then confronts Albert, asking him if he ever promised anyone else a spot in the final three. The shit quickly hits the fan when Rick and Sophie throw Albert under the bus. Soon afterward, Albert is aware that there is a whole lot of damage control he needs to do if he is to survive the vote tonight. Having no true alternatives, he tries to reel in Brandon to his side.

After praying, Brandon is persuaded that God has a plan for him. Hence, he reveals that if he has to, he will give Albert his immunity necklace. Thinking that Coach would never consider betraying him and voting him out, Brandon announces that he forgives Albert and will give up his necklace, hoping that the tribe will get rid of Sophie. Faced with this unanticipated turn of events, Benjamin claims that he needs God's guidance and isolates himself to pray.

Am I the only one who's sick and tired of all the praying and the religious fucktardness this season? This just in, Dragon Slayer: Betraying one of your closest allies in the name of God goes against everything honor, loyalty, and integrity stand for. What a douchebag. . .

I'll do whatever God wants me to do.

At tribal council, Brandon announces that he gives up his immunity necklace and he hands it to Albert. Aware to expect the unexpected with Russell's nephew, the jury is shocked nonetheless. With Jeff Probst unable to conceal his surprise, Benjamin explains that Brandon prayed and God told him to save Albert. Brandon explains that Coach and Albert are his best friends out here. For his part, Albert lays it a bit thick, trying to make Brandon believe that he made the right decision. Sophie says that Albert and sneaky and she doesn't trust him anymore.

Honestly, I don't think that he's going home tonight. So I'm not going to give him the necklace back.

As a matter of course, Brandon was the only one surprised by the fact that he beat Sophie by a 3-2 vote. In another Christian fuckwit moment, Coach hugs Brandon and tells him that it's God's will. He encourages Brandon to go win redemption.

Jeff Probst reveals that the winner of the next duel will re-enter the game.

Ozzy doesn't appear all that surprised to see Cochran show up at Redemption Island. He asks him if he learned his lesson. The Coch-machine is humiliated by the fact that he was used and then discarded by the Upolu alliance. Why the shock and surprise on Cochran's part, I'll never know. The writing was on the wall, but I guess that Hercules was too drunk on the Dragon Slayer's koolaid and never realized that there was no way he could ever be anything but number 7. . .

He really doesn't stand a chance.

Day 31

Since she's obviously not part of the tribe, Edna excuses herself from the morning prayer. She feels that she's been duped by everybody else. Like Cochran, it looks as though Edna was blinded by her desire to go far into the game. Sadly, from the very beginning it was evident that Edna was on the outside looking in and never truly a part of the Upolu alliance.

Coach tries to explain to her that it has now become an individual game. As Edna attempts to discredit Brandon, they receive a Sprint cellphone containing videos from their families. The entire tribe cries when they watch their personal videos.

At the Redemption Island arena, the much-anticipated duel opposing Ozzy and the Coch-train takes place. They must use grappling hooks to retrieve three bags. Each of them contains a ball, which they must then use to solve a table maze. Ozzy quickly takes the lead, but by dropping his ball twice he allows Cochran to come back from behind. It is a close call, but Ozzy is victorious. Being on Survivor has been a surreal experience for the poor nerd.

Their loved ones enter the arena. As winner of the duel, Ozzy is asked to select three family members who'll get the opportunity to spend time with the castaways on Redemption Island. Ozzy goes for Albert, Coach, and Brandon.

Ozzy shows them around Redemption Island, and they use the phone to take pictures of themselves. Benjamin tells Ozzy that he'd like to take him to the final three. It would be like two warriors duking it out till the very end.

Brandon's father tries to convince him to make a move if the occasion presents itself. He wants his son to put himself in a position to win it all. But religious fucktard that he is, Brandon refuse to do anything God would frown upon.

Sensing that his son has absolutely no chance to make it to the end with his own resources (apparently he doesn't trust in the Almighty to such an extent), Brandon's dad approaches Coach to know if Brandon will be among the three finalists. The Dragon Slayer doesn't appreciate the fact that the other man is attempting to manipulate and bully him.

Day 32

In order to win immunity, the castaways must keep moving across a giant puzzle board. Turning pieces as they go along, the last person left standing wins immunity. When he's taken out of the game, Brandon explains that he was trying to corner Edna. Coach wins immunity.

Help a sister out, Coach.

Sophie feels that Brandon was really rude to Edna. Rick doesn't agree with that sort of behavior. Brandon tries to apologize to Edna, but she is having none of it.

People on Survivor are not as forgiving as Jesus Christ.

In a last ditch attempt to save her own skin, Edna approaches Coach, Albert, and Sophie with a plan to vote out Brandon. Honor, loyalty, and integrity, or so she claims, dictate that they get rid of the psychotic little hobbit.

Benjamin explains that the others won't send Brandon to Redemption Island for fear that he'll come back. Coach says that he cannot use the idol to save her. Otherwise, nobody would trust him anymore and he'd be the next one to go.

Seeing that there was no way to sway Coach, she tries to convince Albert and Sophie to vote with her.

At tribal council, Edna is on the hot seat and she knows it. She admits that she tried to target Brandon following the immunity challenge.

When the votes are tallied, it's no surprise that Edna beats Brandon in a 5-1 vote. Hence, she will be the next player to face Ozzy on Redemption Island.

Once again, Albert and Sophie failed to turn things around. How many opportunities do they need to make a move and take control of this game??? I've always known that both of them don't figure in Coach's plan for the final three. And now that we have confirmation that the Dragon Slayer wants to take Ozzy to the end, it's even more obvious that Albert and Sophie are in trouble unless they win every single immunity from here on out. . .

With the pagonging now complete, it appears that quite a few fans have lost hope in Survivor: South Pacific. The ratings are down again, and it's doubtful that this week's episode will reverse that trend. Indeed, "Cult Like" was likely the most boring episode of the current season, reminiscent of the sleep-inducing Survivor: Redemption Island.

Following tribal council, Edna is concerned now that Cochran is the only one left from the Savaii tribe and it doesn't look as though he's the next to go home.

Day 28

The Coch-train's personality is getting on Sophie's nerves. She now understands why the Savaii members didn't like him that much.

Cochran compares Coach's alliance to Charles Manson's family. He is aware that he needs some sort of plan to get him further in the game. In a dumb and clumsy strategic move, the nerd confronts the entire Upolu gang. Claiming that, to some extent at least, they are indebted to him for helping them getting rid of every single Savaii members, he asks them to save him for at least one tribal council. He explains that it took a bold move on his part to side with them and wipe out his former tribe.

Tsk, tsk, tsk. Cochran, a student of the game, a supposedly smart player, a shrewd strategist, should have known that begging like that will always be perceived as a sign of weakness in Survivor. Something that will indubitably generate scorn rather than sympathy. Although Albert and Benjamin appeared to consider his plea, the poor Coch-machine had better odds of getting a blow job from Sophie. . . Come on, man! He should have thought about that before flipping come the merge. Now it's obvious he would pay the price for his foolishness.

At the Redemption Island arena, Ozzy, Dawn, and Whitney must balance ceramic dishes using a long arm for as long as possible. Dawn and Whitney become members of the final jury, and Ozzy lives to see another day.

From this point on, I'm even more excited to go into the duels and beat people that are my enemies in this game. I have to rely on myself winning. But that is what I do best and that's the way I want to win this game.

Day 29

Since no one seems better suited for it the way he is, Ozzy feels that Redemption Island is his home.

Prince Albert is not impressed with the way his tribe is playing the game. According to him, it's about performing in the challenges and putting together a great strategy. But his work ethic is annoying some of his tribemates.

When Edna confronts Coach about whether or not she is the next to go home after Cochran, he replies that she is. Edna wants to know if there is a possibility that would permit her to remain for a longer period of time.

Keeping Edna and Cochran would be the best thing for me to do. Because they're never going to vote me out.

Day 30

Benjamin feels like he owes the Coch-train. He would like for him to win the immunity challenge. Sadly, it's evident that the tai chi sessions have not yet turned the nerd into Hercules. . .

The immunity challenge features two different rounds. In the first round, the castaways must toss sandbags on top of a crate. The finalists will use a giant slingshot to shoot coconuts and knock down targets. In addition to immunity, the reward consists of a spa afternoon back at camp.

Albert, Rick, and Sophie move on to the second round. Albert wins immunity. After choosing Coach to share the reward with, he decides to give his own reward to Cochran for his birthday.

On the way back from the challenge, Cochran wonders if it's a farewell present. He's never had a massage before. He lied about his birthday, which was months ago. Coach says that he'll fight for the Coch-machine's life.

After his massage, Cochran pulls Albert aside to discover which way the wind is blowing. The nerd says that Coach probably wouldn't mind voting Rick out. Both Albert and Edna would be willing to go along with that plan.

You have to give him props for trying, for Cochran is scrambling and stirring some shit in order to stay alive. When he consults him, Benjamin is unsure as to what to do. The Dragon Slayer wants to make sure he makes the right decision.

At tribal council, Coach tells Jeff Probst that the possibilities are endless tonight. Cochran explains that he feels that he's entitled for at least one more night for what he did for the Upolu alliance. Edna claims that she was led to believe that she was everyone's equal, but she was duped. Experiencing another breakdown, Brandon reveals that he's voting for Cochran tonight and Edna at the next tribal council.

As the votes are tallied, Cochran beats Rick in a 4-2 vote.

Well, the Coch-train has reached its destination, it appears. Of course, there is always a slight chance that he can beat Ozzy on Redemption Island. But we all know that his odds are slim. He can cry foul and claim that it's insulting and humiliating to be discarded like that, but he should have known. Cochran was Upolu's condom. They used him to get what they wanted, but a condom is always thrown away afterward.

With each new episode, my disappointment in both Albert and Sophie grows. These two, by their inaction, have painted themselves into a corner. It's obvious that Coach has no plan to bring them to the final three, yet they have failed to take advantage of the Savaii votes to help them solidify their position in the game since the merge. They must now rely on winning immunity and a healthy dose of luck.

All in all, after a number of very entertaining episodes, it appears that everything is slowly going down the crapper. . . Here's to hoping that next week's episode will be better, otherwise we are heading toward another crappy finale. . .

What can you do? It was the Thanksgiving break, after all. But at least this one had enough new scenes to be interesting as well as entertaining.

Still, host Jeff Probst needs to tone it down a bit, methinks. One of the most memorable seasons of Survivor??? Are you kidding me??? The best since Heroes vs Villains, no question. But nothing that had former fans who abandoned the show over the years returning in droves. . .

Some of the most memorable first-time players ever??? WTF??? There is no All-Stars material here. . .

So here are my thoughts on some of the nineteen new scenes which were featured in this week's episode.

Day 1

As a Mormon, Dawn finds the idea of joining the rest of the tribe for a swim in nothing but her underwear to be more than a little off-putting. The Coch-machine isn't thrilled by the prospect either.

This is the best shape I've ever been in. As pathetic as it is to say, this is as good as it gets for me.

Hmmm, that's really saying something. . .

Considering the less than warm welcome he received from the Upolu tribe, even Coach would prefer to have Ozzy on his tribe rather than himself.

Sophie finds Brandon a bit creepy. Sharp girl. . .

Day 6

Papa Bear giving Cochran advice on how to pick up women. Priceless. At least he is aware that eye contact is important. Sadly, the pointers fail to seduce Whitney when the Coch-man gives it a go.

Day 15

Coach is livid when he sees Mikayla putting two tea spoons of cream and sugar in her coffee this morning. Always the wise Samourai warrior and philosopher, Benjamin roasts pork fat to make Mikayla sick to get back at her.

Cochran shares a gross kindergarten story with Elyse. Apparently the young Coch-train was about as inadequate as his older self. In order to prevent being overheard by his classmates while sitting on the throne, the child who would one day become a Law student at Harvard elected to shit himself. What can I tell you? Shit happens. . .

Day 17

Benjamin "Man of God" Wade makes me want to puke. I mean, where are the crazy stories and anecdotes that made him so entertaining in the past???

Brandon's eruption at tribal council last night confirmed to a lot of people that he really doesn't have any business in this game.

Back at Savaii, Cochran is becoming more and more of an outsider within his own tribe. Keith and Whitney have gotten very close. So much so that Whitney realizes that they both need to be careful, for couples can be powerful in this game.

I've had the distinct pleasure of sleeping in the lovers' bungalow with Keith and Whitney for two nights.

Day 18

Ozzy makes the Coch-train an object of ridicule by ordering him to hold a chicken as he beheads the bird.

Ozzy, no wonder you've never won Survivor. No wonder you always get blindsided. Because you're a freaking idiot. This is pathetic, man.

It appears that the fire at the former Savaii camp stinks to high heaven. A Rick quote. I kid you not:

This is terrible. I'd rather sleep down from a garbage dump than that fire. That fire kills you.

Coach isn't blind to the sleeping arrangements. Seeing Cochran sleeping alone, Benjamin decides to take the young man under his wing. In a classic crackpot moment, Coach comes up with Greek mythology identities for all the castaways. Apparently, the Coch-train is Hercules. . .

I thought that my name should be Zeus.

Day 20

Ozzy, the natural provider of the merged tribe, doesn't really want to share the fish he catches with the enemy.

Feeding the competition is kind of a weird idea. You know what I mean?

After winning immunity on Day 21, Ozzy tried to reel Coach in by promising the Dragon Slayer to take him to the end with him. Coach may be a fool, yet he knows that Ozzy is lying.

A few days later, with Ozzy gone to Redemption Island, Brandon wanted to become the new provider for the tribe, an attempt that fails miserably. Starving, the tribe decides to eat one of the chicken. Brandon, dumbass that he is, drops the bird when he takes it out of the cage. The chicken escapes due to Brandon's stupidity.

Brandon loses the chicken. You know, maybe Brandon can pray for it to come back and it'll show back up.

And finally, we get confirmation that Sophie is responsible for Albert not making a move as they could still count on the Savaii votes at tribal council.

Mixing things up this early is crazy.

Hopefully she'll remember those words when the Upolu crew decides to get rid of her. It's obvious that Coach has no intention of bringing both Albert and Sophie to the final three.

The folks at Reality TV Magazine have an interview with Jim Rice, now a member of the final jury. Here's a teaser:

Coach has been talking about strategy involving the lowest person on the totem pole. Do you think Cochran was the lowest person on the totem pole and what could you have done differently to make him feel more secure?

Pre-merge versus post-merge is night and day. Pre-merge, I could see why he would think he’s the low man on the totem pole. Post-merge, there’s nobody on our tribe that had more final-three scenarios than Cochran. Everybody — and I say everybody down to Dawn — had post-merge, final-three plans with Cochran.

Following a significant drop in ratings last week, more viewers tuned in last night to watch the tenth episode of Survivor: South Pacific. Not as many asses in the seats as for the "Trojan Horse" and "Double Agent" episodes, but still a good performance. Now with the pagonging done with, it will be interesting to see of viewers will remain till the finale. . .

On Redemption Island, Jim explains what happened at tribal council to Keith and Ozzy.

Back at camp, Coach claims that Jim is the worst kind of people. He tells Dawn and Whitney that they can now grow as a family together.

Coach is running the show like he's Jesus.

Whitney can't understand how smart people like Cochran and Sophie can be so stupid as to be oblivious to what Coach is doing.

Day 25

The Coch-machine is doing yoga with the Dragon Slayer. He might be a useless and spineless wimp, yet the Coch-train is aware that sticking with Benjamin remains his best option. Fearless destroyer of all manner of beasts, Coach is beginning to fear Albert and Brandon.

At the Redemption Island arena, the entire merged tribe attends the duel between Ozzy, Keith, and Jim. The castaways must hold two poles upright on the top of their hands against a plank. No one in attendance is rooting for Ozzy. Nevertheless, Jim and Keith become the first two members of the final jury, while Ozzy lives to see another day.

Day 26

Ozzy is having a ball at Redemption Island. He knows that no one in the tribe can fish, so they must be starving. He feels as though he's rejuvenating himself, getting ready for the endgame. Far from the machinations of the tribe and eating well, Ozzy feels that he's getting stronger.

Dawn informs Cochran that she's now willing to do anything to remain in the game. Cochran reveals that he might be willing to switch things up.

For the immunity challenge, the castaways must balance a bowl filled with rice on the top of their heads as they make their way through an obstacle course. They must fill a basket at the end of the course with the rice they carry until they raise their flag. Sophie wins immunity.

Jeff Probst announces that there will be a twist at tonight's tribal council.

Interestingly enough, good-for-nothing Cocherino is disappointed by his crappy performance at the immunity challenge. He actually thought he had a shot. . . Based on what, I'll never know. The nerd feels that it will be a double elimination tonight.

Dawn and Whitney are aware that they really needed to win immunity today. Dawn wishes to speak with Albert. They warns him that if he wants to turn the game around, now is the time. Albert would like to secure every possible Savaii jury vote. And he would like to see Edna go.

Albert confirms the Coch-train's worst fear: that the former Savaii traitor will be voted out before Edna. Albert invites him to make a move to insure that he won't end up in 7th place. They approach Sophie to get rid of Edna to help secure Dawn and Whitney's jury vote down the line. But Sophie is ambivalent and it doesn't appear that she's willing to get with the program.

For his part, Benjamin is getting suspicious. He knows that Albert is currying jury vote, which goes against the Samouraï code and is thus unacceptable. Am I the only missing the old Coach a whole lot? I liked him a lot more when he was all about crazy anecdotes involving canibals and sodomy!

If anyone goes against the family, they're dead.

At tribal council, Jeff Probst wants to know how Dawn tried to find cracks in the Upolu alliance. He wants to know how Cochran feels about being 7th. Coach is concerned about the possibility of a big move occurring tonight. Albert doesn't feel like Coach is the leader of the Upolu alliance. He sees Benjamin more as a figurehead.

As the votes are tallied, we realized that both Albert and Sophie chickened out and Dawn loses a 7-2 vote against Edna.

As expected, the twist Jeff Probst announced is another immunity challenge, with another vote to follow immediately. The castaways are asked survival related questions, and Sophie wins immunity for a second time in a row.

It comes as no surprise when Whitney loses a 7-1 vote against the Coch-train.

Well, for a guy who spits out good game when it comes to talking strategy, he's quite the pussy when the time comes to put his money where his mouth is. And for all that she appears to be what could be the smartest Upolu player, Sophie can be more than a little dense at times. It's obvious that neither Albert or Sophie figure in Coach's plan as far as the final 3 is concerned. In order to turn the game around, they needed the Savaii votes. With every Savaii member gone to Redemption Island, they will soon find themselves in a precarious position. Had they made a move, Albert and Sophie were all but assured a spot in the final 3. As things stand, they'll need a few immunities and a couple of betrayals to make it there. Definitely not the path of least resistance. . .